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New York Asian Film Festival

Apr 9th 2008

June 20 – July 6, 2008

at the IFC Center
(323 Sixth Avenue, at West 4th Street)

and

Japan Society
(333 East 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

It's back like a bad dream – the New York Asian Film Festival kicks off its
seventh edition this summer and we're exploding with the rich smoky taste of
pure Asian movie flavor. While we have plenty of surprises still to be
announced (including extreme terrorism, extreme weirdness and some
hard-hitting, high profile action titles) here's what's confirmed so far:

L: CHANGE THE WORLD – the prequel to last year's hit DEATH NOTE movies, this
is another pop gothic popcorn muncher and this time it's directed by Hideo
Nakata of THE RING and DARK WATER fame.
(A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

ASSEMBLY – China takes the war movie and kicks it up to eleven in one of the
year's biggest blockbusters. The first half is a dirt-in-your-teeth war film
about the Ninth Company's last stand during China's 1948 Civil War. The
second half is a dissection of the way war heroes are put on the shelf and
forgotten once the sounds of battle fade. Truly epic, and truly magnificent.

MAD DETECTIVE – the New York Times says that this dark, nightmarish thriller
from Johnnie To “reaffirms his status as an action master.” And they're
right!

DAINIPPONJIN – this giant monster mock-u-mentary is the movie that
“Cloverfield” should have been. Ever wonder what happens when giant monsters
go into heat? Wonder no longer!
(A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

ALWAYS 1 & 2 – these two massively budgeted feel-good Japanese blockbusters
about a Tokyo neighborhood rebuilding itself after World War II have won 14
Japanese Academy Awards between them and sold millions of tickets. ALWAYS 1
sold-out the NYAFF in 2006, and this year we're bringing it back with its
enormously satisfying sequel.
(Always 2 is a co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of
New Japanese Film)

M – Lee Myung-Se (DUELIST, NOWHERE TO HIDE) turns in one of the trippiest
films of the year. A celluloid hallucination, it's like dreaming with your
eyes open and it inspired legions of fans to take to the streets of Seoul in
protest when one theater wanted to end its run early.

ACCURACY OF DEATH – Takeshi Kaneshiro (FALLEN ANGELS, HOUSE OF FLYING
DAGGERS) rules as the sexiest angel of death ever seen in this pitch
perfect remake of “Death Takes a Holiday.” It's a romantic comedy that
manages the neat trick of being both genuinely funny and genuinely romantic.
(A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

And we're super-excited about LADY WHIRLWIND: AN EVENING WITH ANGELAMAO, a
celebration of the life and works of martial arts legend, AngelaM.A.O. You
may remember her best as Bruce Lee's sister in ENTER THE DRAGON, but AngelaM.A.O was one of the greatest female screen fighters of her time and she will
be here in person to do a Q&A and introduce newly discovered prints of two
of her classic films.

We're also excited to be co-presenting the July 3 – July 6 portion of the
New York Asian Film Festival with Japan Society's “Japan Cuts: Festival of
New Japanese Film.” Once we end our festival, they'll keep on going,
presenting great new Japanese films for a further ten days. It's more Asian
films than you can beat with a stick, and they're all out to get you.

It's been a tough year for many of the Asian film industries, with less
blockbusters than ever before, but we're going to bring you a festival of
epic proportions come hell or high water, so stay tuned to
www.subwaycinema.com for all the latest news as we get it.

PONYCAN USA launched a few months back with two shows: Denki-Gai and Yuki Yuna is a Hero. Executive Director Kazuyoshi Fukuba answers a few questions about what to expect, and what's up with those prices.― PONYCAN USA is the newly-minted US distribution arm of Pony Canyon, which has been in the Japanese media business since 1966. PONYCAN USA follows the example set by Aniplex of America, in that th...

Shinichiro Watanabe's zany sci-fi showcase for his artist pals winds up on bluray today, loaded with special features in a limited edition with a hefty price tag. Mike Toole investigates.― Space Dandy is a series full of magic-- a magic that first reveals itself late in episode 1, during a sequence in which the show's titular hero and his new pal, Meow, are forced to run away from a pack of jumbo-si...

Find out if you won!― Thank you (again) for entering our contest (again). Winners: Patrick Nakasone, Honolulu, Hi Hiddi Jordan, Bailey, Mi Saul Diaz, Arleta, Ca Watch for our next give-away coming SOON! In the meantime, head over to SpaceDandy.com to find out more about FUNimation's awesome Space Dandy sets.

This little-seen family adventure about a group of tanuki living in Kyoto has careful writing and beautiful scenery; Nick Creamer thinks it might just be a modern classic.― In the guidebook accompanying Eccentric Family, series composer Shotaro Suga speaks frankly of the difficulty of condensing an entire book into an anime, and the question of where to even begin telling the story. “There are just ...

Every good fantasy series has a few incredible elf ladies on display. Today, Lynzee decides to finally share the elf.― The term "bombshell" was coined, very appropriately, during World War II to refer to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, and other sex symbols of the era. There aren't any elves in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but there are plenty of wild, voluptuous fantasy women wielding swor...

Deadman Wonderland is a dark, unsettling look into a private prison abusing the system for the whims of the Warden and a few governmental higher ups.― Ever since 1864, a “wonderland” has been a world where the rules of logic do not apply, a carnival that can be by turns fun and frightening. Deadman Wonderland has been playing with that definition since its first volume, and now in its seventh we beg...